How to Grow and Care for Scarlet Runner Beans

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About Growing Scarlet Runner Bean Plants in Your Garden

If you’re growing Scarlet Runner Bean plant flowers, you’re growing an edible ornamental. That’s right! It’s grown as a flowering plant and as a vegetable. It is a member of the Legume family. So, some of us will grow Scarlet Runner Bean plants in the vegetable garden. While other gardeners will grow them in the flower garden on a trellis or fence to appreciate their bright-colored blooms. All in all, it’s a pretty cool plant, eh!?

Scarlet Runner Beans, and other varieties of runner beans, are easy to grow. It’s fast-growing, climbing up to nine feet in a season. Plants will produce a profusion of pretty flowers, amidst a heavy cover of leaves.

Plant Scarlet Runner Bean flowers where they can grow up a fence, trellis, bamboo canes, or some other kind of support. Here’s a novel way to grow them: Plant them in a container and grow them on your patio or deck. You can enjoy the flowers from your lounge chair. Then, when you get hungry, simply snip off a few leaves to add to your lunchtime salad. Or harvest some beans to add to a vegetable soup. 

Here’s a little secret: Scarlet Runner Bean plants are actually short-lived perennials. But, most people grow them as annuals.

Scarlet Runner Bean Plant Specifications

Flower Colors: Shades of orange, red, and white.

Flowers Bloom: Summer to Fall

Plant Height: Six to nine feet long vines.

Plant Hardiness Zones: 7 – 11

Ideal Soil pH: 6.0 – 6.5.

Light Needs: Bright, full sunlight.

Toxic Plant?: No, but toxic in high amounts.

Deer Resistant? No. animals.

Number of Species: 70

Native to: Mountainous regions of Mexico and Central America. 

Plant Type: Perennial, almost always grown as an annual.

Botanical Name: Phaseolus coccineus

Are Scarlet Runner Beans Edible?

YES!! However, Scarlet Runner Beans have a mildly toxic compound.

They can be eaten raw in small quantities. It is recommended to boil the beans for ten minutes. This cooks out the toxin. Then, the beans are safe to eat in larger quantities. The pods, roots, young leaves, and stems are all edible, too. Use the beans as a substitute for beans in practically any recipe. And, use the leaves wherever a recipe calls for greens.

Did You Know? These flavorful beans are low in carbs. 

Medicinal Uses for Scarlet Runner Ben Plants

The plants are used in traditional medicine and home medicinal remedies. Here are some of the ways it is used medicinally:

  • The beans lower your risk of heart disease and cancer.
  • Use the roots to treat some malaria symptoms. 
  • It helps to cure urinary tract infections. 
  • It is used as a weight reducer.
  • Improve bone health.
  • Prepare an ointment to treat eczema and other skin ailments.

Scarlet Runner Bean Plant Propagation

Scarlet Runner Bean flowers are grown from seeds. Germination is quick. In warm soil, they can emerge in under a week.

Sow Scarlet Runner Bean seeds directly into the garden after the last frost in your area. Beans are highly susceptible to frost in both spring and fall. So, do not plant them too early.

Seed Planting Depth: Plant the seeds 2 inches deep.

Final Plant Spacing: Six inches apart.

Days to Germination: 7- 10 days or less, depending upon variety and weather conditions.

About Seed Germination

Light Requirements

For plant health and maximum bean production, grow these plants in full, direct sunlight. Select a planting location where they will receive eight to ten hours of bright sunlight each day.

Insufficient sunlight decreases flower and bean production. And, it increases the risk of plant disease. 

How to Grow Scarlet Runner Bean Plants

Growing Scarlet Runner Beans is easy. Grow Scarlet Runner Bean in full sun. Plants prefer rich, soil. Adding compost before planting, will help them to grow quickly to their full potential.

Scarlet Runner Beans require something to climb. Plant them along a fence or trellis. Trellises are a great way to display this attractive, flowering ornamental. After the blooming period, the beans will be accessible to harvest right from the trellis. In the vegetable garden, fences and bamboo poles are most often used.

Add ample amounts of water and fertilizer. The plants need both, to reach maximum growth. Also, just before the blooming period, apply a fertilizer high in phosphorous, to promote blooms.

Weed around the plants, especially while bean plants are young. Once they begin to climb, weeds will not block valuable sunlight. But, they will continue to compete for moisture and nutrients. A heavy layer of mulch around the plants will look good, and keep weeds down.

All bean plants  are very susceptible to frost. Cover them up whenever cold temperatures are expected.

Do you want to save a few seeds to plant next year? Why pay for store-bought seeds, when these seeds are easy to harvest and store.? Towards the end of the growing season, allow a few beans to remain on the vines. After the seed pod turns brown and dry, the seeds are ready to harvest for next year’s planting. Store the seeds in a cool, dry, and dark place.

How to Grow Scarlet Runner Bean in Containers and Flowerpots

People who enjoy gardening as a hobby, and do not have space in their back yard, should try growing this plant in a container on their balcony or deck. The vines can grow up or down. Or, you can train the vines to grow around the railing of your deck. 

Like any container-grown plant, they need a little more care and attention. In addition to normal plant care, here’s how to grow Scarlet Runner Beans in containers:

  • Select a sunny location on your balcony, deck, or patio. 
  • It is important to have a drain hole in the container to allow excess water to drain from the pot. 
  • Keep an eye on the moisture level. Check the plants every few days, especially in extended periods of hot, dry weather.
  • Keep the soil moist, but not wet. Let the top of the soil begin to dry between watering.
  • When watering the plants, thoroughly wet the soil. Excess water will drain through the hole in the bottom of the flowerpot.
  • Nutrients in a flowerpot are limited. The plants are heavy feeders.  So, use fertilizer spikes to feed the plants. Or, apply a light solution of liquid fertilizer once a month.  

Pruning Scarlet Runner Bean Plants

This easy-to-maintain plant needs little or no pruning.  Remove any dead, damaged, or diseased leaves and vines.  That’s all there is to it!

Harvesting Scarlet Runner Beans for the Dinner Table

After the flowers have bloomed, bean pods will begin to grow.  If picked very young, the pods are edible. They get tough and stringy very quickly.

IMPORTANT: Most people who grow runner beans for the beans, will eat just the beans. Beans must be cooked before eating.  

Picking beans continuously promotes new flowers and more beans!

Insects and Plant Disease

Most varieties of beans are susceptible to a variety of insects, most notably beetles. They can be effectively treated with a variety of other insecticides.

Bunnies love beans! Rabbits eat the tender new leaves. If there are rabbits in your area, a rabbit fence is not a nicety, it is a necessity. They will devastate a row of beans in a hurry, eating the tender new leaves. As new ones develop, they will come back for more.

More on control of rabbits in the garden.

Deer love to nip leaves of beans. If deer are a problem in your area, they will be a problem with your runner beans.  Fencing or pest netting is the most effective control.

 More on how to control deer in gardens.

Fungus diseases are a frequent problem in wet or humid weather. Use a fungicide as needed.  Keeping the leaves dry, and avoiding overcrowding will help to keep the disease from getting a start.

Also see: Plant Problems – Identify the causes and find the cures.

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